The filling is my go-to tofu ricotta. It’s creamy, lemony, herby, delicious, and a convincing dupe for the real thing. Trust me on this one – you need this in your life.

And the ‘pasta noodles’ are thinly-sliced sweet potatoes, which add the perfect tender texture and sweet flavor contrast to the savory ‘ricotta.’ In other words, swoon.

How is this recipe simple? I’m so glad you asked. It requires just 9 basic ingredients, simple methods, and about 1 hour from start to finish.

While this recipe lacks a marinara sauce as in a traditional lasagna, I argue it doesn’t need it! However, if you’re a sauce-lover like me, I do include an optional (but highly recommended) basil pesto sauce that’s positively amazing (and still keeps the recipe within my 10-ingredient standard).

It not only adds a burst of vibrant green color, but also a punch of herby-garlic flavor that finishes the dish perfectly (in my humble opinion).

I created this recipe with comfort food-loving folks in mind. Everyone loves a good hearty baked dish this time of year. Plus, it’ll satisfy hearty cravings with nearly 10 grams of protein per serving.

If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and don’t forget to take a picture and tag it #minimalistbaker on Instagram! We’d love to see what you come up with. Cheers, friends!

PESTO SAUCE optional

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 C).

Add all tofu filling ingredients to a food processor or blender and pulse to combine, scraping down sides as needed. You are looking for a semi-pureed mixture with bits of basil still intact. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Peel sweet potatoes and slice thinly with a very sharp knife or mandolin. They shouldn't be paper thin, but semi-thick and bendable - about 1/8th inch.

In a 9x13-inch (or similar size) dish, begin laying down the sweet potatoes in a single layer, overlapping slightly.

Top with one-third of the tofu ricotta mixture and spread using a spoon or spatula. Top with another layer of sweet potatoes, slightly overlapping. Repeat until you have three total layers of tofu ricotta, and four layers of sweet potatoes. The top layer should be sweet potatoes.

Cover with foil and bake for 50 minutes.

Then remove foil, increase oven heat to 400 degrees F (204 C), and bake uncovered for another 5-10 minutes to slightly brown up the top layer.

While the lasagna is cooking, prepare pesto (optional), by adding olive oil, basil, and garlic to a blender or food processor. Mix on on medium-low speed to combine. Then add vegan parmesan cheese, a pinch each salt and pepper and pulse to combine again.

Add water to thin until a pourable pesto sauce is achieved, mixing on high until only small bits of basil and garlic remain. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. I added a bit more vegan parmesan cheese and basil.

Let lasagna cool slightly before serving. Top entire lasagna with desired amount of pesto, or reserve for individual servings.

Best when fresh, though leftovers keep covered in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Freeze for longer-term storage.

Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding more salt and pepper for flavor, nutritional yeast for cheesiness, and lemon juice for brightness.

Notes

*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated with half of the basil pesto sauce.

I made this recipe for the first time for company — and it was a huge success! I made the lasagna in the morning, put it in the fridge and cooked it later that evening — made for an easy dinner prep!My only complaint is that there weren’t any leftovers! I made the recipe exactly, including the pesto sauce. I also served with cashew cheese sauce on the side. It was delicious, healthy comfort food with a green salad and garlic bread — will definitely make again. Thank you for your great vegan recipes Dana! Much appreciated!

This recipe was amazing!
I literally just finished eating it and I couldn’t get over how creamy the dish was.
As someone who is extremely sensitive to dairy and gluten this made me feel like I could still partake in the joy of eating (without the food allergies)! Thanks 🙏🏾

I enjoyed the flavours of this dish! It was definitely a healthier alternative to traditional lasagna. I’ve made this ricotta before from other recipes on this site and it’s always a big hit in our home. It’s a little tricky to ‘spread’ the ricotta around without flipping over the sweet potato layer. But if you drag the spatula across the dish without lifting it off the sweet potatoes, I found that helped maintain the layers. And when I had to, I used my finger to anchor the sweet potato down before lifting the spatula up.

Next time I’m going to try bulking this up more with some sautéed mushrooms, spinach, and a dash of marinara sauce.

I love the vegan ricotta in all of your recipes! Have made it many times, but I am wondering if I can make the “ricotta” a few days early, and keep it in the refrigerator for 2 days prior to assembling and baking? Will it mess with the texture, or is it a problem that it will be cold vs. room temperature? Alternatively, I could just make and assemble the entire thing ahead of time, but was hoping to only make the ricotta early if possible.

This was absolutely delicious! I followed the filling instructions exactly as listed, but quickly found I didn’t have enough for 3 layers in a 9×13 pan, so I moved it to a 9 x 9 pan and had just enough. SO GOOD!!

This is my new favorite dish. The vegan pesto was incredible! Definitely using this for potlucks and when we host vegans and non-vegans at our place. :) Can’t wait to try the other lasagna adaptations!

I made this and it was delicious!! However, how did you spread the ricotta mixture over the sweet potatoes without having them move all over? Although my lasagna tasted great, it was not nearly as pretty as yours. Also, did you thin your ricotta mixture? I only had enough for two ricotta layers. Thanks!

We’re glad you enjoyed it Christina! We recommend spreading the mixture with a spoon or spatula very carefully. If you dollop the mixture in equal amounts across the dish and then spread it gently, you may have more success. Did you happen to use a larger pan? This may have been why you were short on the ricotta mixture. Hope this helps!

After reading so many good reviews about the ricotta itself, I decided to make extra to what was required for the lasagna. Now I am culturing it by putting it into a jar and mixing it up with some of my home brewed water kefir and sealing the top with olive oil. It’s fun watching it start to bubble and rise. I look forward to trying it in a few days :)

I made my own [no oil] sweet potato lasagna using your ricotta recipe. Prepping and working an hour with a sink full of dishes I thought am I going to have to throw this out? One taste and WOW! This is the real deal. Like Dom Deluise in the movie Fatso I grew up with a spoonful of pasta in my mouth. Now a vegan, I searched for a ricotta recipe that reflected the dairy version. The texture is different, a bit chalky, but the taste is spot on.
Thanks a million.
Dan

I’m not a vegan but I love this recipe – I make it all the time! I agree with other reviewers that the pesto is a must! This year I will be making it for Thanksgiving and have a few questions. I will be using a 11 x 15 pan and would like to have 5-6 sweet potato layers instead of 4…

– Will doubling the recipe suffice?
– Will I need to increase the cooking time or temperature?
– If made the day before, what are your recommendations for re-heating?

I’m literally eating this right now and can’t believe this isn’t real ricotta. It’s so crazy! I love this!
I added 2 Tbsp tahini and 1 tsp miso paste to the ricotta when I was blending it up, and it made it extra creamy and cheesy.

I’m already tweaking with it (we’re transitioning to a vegan diet and taking baby steps). Here’s a post from the last variation I made (I made 2 lasagnes last night each a little different because we live in an RV and I have a tiny oven!) https://www.instagram.com/p/BX4QFqfH4by/

I have issues off and on with soy. So, I am going to look for a vegan alternative. When I find it I’ll let you know how the recipe turns out for me. I eat sweet potato all the time baked (orange and white)

I’m going to be honest, I was pretty skeptical of this recipe and didn’t expect much when making it, however, it turned out AMAZING! So good and so amazed by this tofu filling haha. Would perhaps add a tomato based sauce next time for when i’m craving more of a traditional lasagna taste.

This was outstanding! I also added some mushrooms and broccoli on top for more veggies, but it was also delicious on its own. I didn’t use all of the tofu fillings and ended up using the leftovers in a grilled cheese, which was also amazing!

I’ve never actually reviewed a recipe before, but I had to take a minute to say this was amazing. I’m not vegan, I just felt like making no-noodle lasagna and came across this recipe. I omitted the yeast, used regular Parmesan, added a layer of sliced zucchini, and topped it with grated cheddar. It was incredible. I loved the tofu filling. Tasted just like ricotta. In my opinion, the pesto is mandatory, not optional. So yummy, thank you!

Just made this sweet potato lasagna as a trial run. Intent to make a smaller version, 8×8 baking pan. made entire ‘ricotta’ recipe and used it all. Confused by reference to saving some olive oil for the ‘squash.’ Is this the sweet potato? Is the cook suppose to brush the top of the lasagna before browning? or as placed in the oven. I ran out of nutritional yeast (1.5 T instead of three for the ricotta) so added more vegan parmasan. Lasagna still cooking. Actually resting, as I wait for dinner guest. Anxious to give this try along with the roasted butternut squash/pomegranite salad recipe which is also on trial. I have a kirtan/potluck for NYE, so will I bring one or both or go back to the excellent butternut squash salad with balsamic also on this website. Been getting rave reviews and requests for recipe (refer them to mimalmistbaker.com), I think it is the goat cheese added at the end.
thanks for all the recipe, they are life changing!

Thank you so much! This is an excellent dish and I have made it several times, making a few adjustments each time. First time I made the recipe as above and it was outstanding. Second time I made it, I added a third layer: gently sautéed fresh chopped tomatoes/onions/splash of red wine. Third time I used walnut oil instead of olive oil in the “ricotta” and brushed the top layer with walnut oil as well. Finished with my roasted walnut pesto–delish! This week I will make again, but with a different twist. Can’t wait!

my colleagues will come over on Thursday for dinner and I am really excited to make this! I am italian but this lasagna could even be better than the original one ;-) Do you think it will sacrifice on flavour if I prepare the lasagna the day before, store in the fridge and then bake it shortly before my guests come over?

And could you maybe also suggest me an appetizer to go well with? Thank you so much and congrats for your great blog :)

This was delicious! I ended up using spinach instead of basil and added mushrooms to the ‘ricotta.’ I also used a basil tomato sauce on top instead of the pesto, but it was still very yummy! I will definitely be making this again.

Looks super yummy! Wondering if this could be prepared a day in advance? Entertaining good friends this Saturday, but tied up all day before they arrive. Hoping to prep this on Friday and pop in the oven Saturday just before folks arrive. Thoughts?

I tried this with a friend last week and it didn’t disappoint. I’m a vegetarian but I’d never even thought of using tofu for ricotta. I’m also usually at a loss for new ideas when it comes to sweet potato, so when I first saw this I was completely game. I have to say it surpassed expectations and was delicious!! (I’m a huge pasta fan so had doubts). I’ve already recommended it to 3 other people and it’s a firm dinner favourite now. Thanks Dana! I can’t wait to browse your website and try even more yumminess :)

This recipe is so delicious! Sorry if you already mentioned this, I was just wondering how you would freeze this, would you bake, then freeze and apply pesto afterward or do you think you could freeze prior to baking?

This recipe is soooo good! Thanks for providing it! I have made it before and it lasted us a week (just me and my husband here), and it was good each day we had it (added it as a side dish to other meals). My husband can’t have tomatoes, garlic, onions etc. (FODMAPs issues), so this recipe is perfect for him, and he loves it. I’m going out right now to get the ingredients to make it for dinner tonight, but this time I’m going to add kale and chard, and lasagna noodles. The flavor is that good that I’m pretty sure I can add these things in without it being too bland. I may up some of the spices in the tofu filling to compensate, though. Thanks again!

I made this tonight and it was wonderful! I cooked it in my 12 inch cast iron skillet and used my food processor’s slicing attachment to get the sweet potatoes nice and thin. It came out beautifully and got rave reviews from our friends who were over. The pesto really did take it over the top and was a big hit. The only things I changed were to brush the top layer of sweet potatoes with olive oil and sprinkled salt and pepper over them too and to replace the cashews in the vegan parmesan with almonds because that’s what I had.

Has anyone tried freezing this? We are going on a short trip and my sister in law is freezing a regular lasagna (with meat) and bringing it for dinner. I need to make a veggie one, and while I eat cheese, my daughter is vegan and does not. This sounds perfect, but I would need to make it ahead and freeze it. Thoughts on how it would be from freezer to oven?

I made this and it was de-lish! I’m a vegetarian converting vegan looking for easy recipies that are delicious enought to satisfy my meat eating boyfriend and this did the trick. He actually said after we finished eating, “i didn’t want that to end, it was so good!” haha. Thank you Dana for another delicious plant based recipie, a total hit at my house!

THANKYOU!!!!! :D :D :D Finally – a ‘perfect pasta’ lasagna that I can actually do – (third time lucky). I HATE eggplant with a passion in EVERY FORM and you can very rarely get spaghetti squash over here. This is a very much long awaited plant based (cause the pasta is actually plants) lasagna!

Found your blog last week and I’ve made several dishes already! Everything I’ve tried so far has exceeded my expectations! I made for dinner last night and is was delish! Even my husband enjoyed it and he is not a big fan of sweet potato.

I’ve made this four times now, and everyone has loved it. Friends, neighbors, coworkers, our local vegan meetup group. It is the perfect balance of tastes and textures. Just posted this link to a Facebook page for our vegan meetup group. Hope you get a good bump!

I made this last night and it was delicious. I finished off the last large portion for lunch today and regret no more is left. I will definitely make this again. The “ricotta” was wonderful and I will use it in other recipes and as a dip all by itself. I loved the taste of the sweet potatoes and the savory ricotta and basil pesto. This is a keeper. Yum. Yum. Yum. Need I say more?

I made this with my husband, who really dislikes Tofu, and we loved it! Really simple to make and the flavours are fantastic <3
We've tried a few of your recipes so far and I am totally in love.
I am a celiac that is new at being a vegetarian and your recipes have helped inspire and motivate me to keep going. Even my husband is a little more open now though I don't think he will completely give up meat.
Thanks so much, keep it up!

I made this last Friday, just finished it today at lunch, and it is absolutely delicious!! I’ve made your eggplant rollups (multiple times, yum!) previously but have always used dairy ricotta for convenience and a little hesitation on tofu as a dairy substitute. HESITATE NO LONGER! This tofu ricotta tastes and looks just like dairy ricotta! Combined with the pesto with its garlicky-basil deliciousness – it’s enough to make me lick my plate! Simple and oh-so-good recipe! Thanks for another amazing recipe!

Another winner! We had this for dinner tonight and this recipe is just perfection. I cannot believe how good this ricotta is!! And the sweet potatoes are better than noodles. So many of my favorite flavors together. Husband loved it as well! This will be in heavy rotation for us! So satisfying!

Hi there! My aunt made me your pumpkin soup this fall–what a dream! I’m looking into this sweet potato lasagna recipe right now, but I have never cooked with tofu before…What does it mean, “pressed dry for 10 minutes?” You press it dry for 10 minutes? Or you press it dry then leave it for 10 minutes? :)

I made this for Xmas dinner with my husband’s family. We are the only vegans so I wanted a main dish for us and something that everyone would enjoy. It was a HUGE hit! I made a double recipe and it was completely devoured! And we had a ton of food….ham, many other casseroles and sides but this dish was the stand out. Everyone asked for the recipe. I’ve just now sent everyone the link to the recipe and sung the praises (again….yesterday I told everyone about this blog and how much I enjoy it and the recipes) of Dana’s wonderful recipes and enjoyable blog. I also told them to order your new cookbook! Merry Christmas and thank you!

I just fixed this for dinner tonight. It was easy to make and delicious. I will definitely make it again. I’m not a fan of pesto, so I eliminated that. Can you recommend something other than pesto? Thank you, Dana!

I made this last night, and the flavours were pretty awesome. I guess I expected it to be a little thicker. It seems that my lasagna could not have been more than 3/4″ thick. I ended up opting out of adding the sauce on top and served the lasagna with some brown rice.

I love tofu – when prepared right! I think tofu can go terribly wrong, and I was really skeptical about this. I’ve made so many amazing recipes from this site, however, and the reviews were too incredible to refute, so I gave it a try. I’ve never been much of a lasagna fan, though my husband is, and could probably write the book on perfect stuffed shells, so I knew he would be the test. We were blown away! When I tried it pre-baking, I was really nervous, but after baking, it is incredible. I feel great eating this (as a vegan with an insulin problem), and my husband (a long-time vegetarian, but tofu-apprehensive) was floored. I can’t wait to adapt it to make a more traditional lasagna, or, to surprise my husband, some amazing stuffed shells. Thanks!

This is the greatest thing ever ! I’m not vegan so I replaced the tofu and yeast mixture with some light ricotta. I added a layer of spinach as well just because. I can’t wait until I am hungry again so I can devour more of it!

Uh. Yum! This recipe was fantastic. My wife is a big pasta fan but we went paleo a couple years ago so we don’t eat it anymore. This ACTUALLY satisfied her rather snooty palette when it comes to lasagna. Thank you SO much!

I’m going to make this next week. Anyone have any idea if this will freeze well? We’re just two people and 8 servings is far too many to eat in one week of the same thing. I’m likely going to keep 1/2 fresh and freeze the other half…

I made this last night for my husband & I, we have to say it was great! Paul is Italian, & was so impressed with the “cheese,” that he couldn’t believe it was tofu, haha. He said he definitely wants it again soon! I am so proud of him, he is becoming much more open minded about food ever since I went Vegan. I never got why people were so into food, my job was so physical working outside, & when I came home I could snack on chips while ramen noodles were cooking just to hold me over. Now I am a stay at home mom & view everything about food differently. I was thinking last night, one day I might be making this for our son when he is old enough to eat it! Maybe your recipe will move down some generations in our family? I thought that was so cool!!

It was so easy to make but the one suggestion I have is maybe spreading a bit of oil on each sweet potato layer. Although I cooked according to the directions, I found the potatoes to have remained somewhat “raw”. The party really enjoyed the flavours but also had the same feedback.

Maybe I went wrong somewhere along the way? Anyway, it’s still delicious :)

Fantastic! Saw it yesterday am in my email and I had all the ingredients so I made it today!
Cheated and added a bit of organic tomatoe sauce instead of the pesto sauce! My husband says “it’s a home run”! Thanks so much!

You’re by far my fav food blogger, what you come up with is epic! I’ve learned a lot of plant-based cooking hacks thanks to you :) Can I sub the fresh basil on the filling and pesto for dried basil? Or is it absolutely necessary that it’s fresh?

OH.MAH.GERD. This looks amazing. I’m eating this this weekend. I’m also excited I can use my new refurbished vitamix (happy xmas to me) to make two things for this dish. BLEND ALL THE THINGS!!! (< current life motto.)

Well I didn’t follow the recipe to the letter but I used it as inspiration. OMG though it was a hit with my guests ranging in age from 4-77! I didn’t have vegan parmesan so I just used nooch and the almond pulp from making almond meal. I used a combination of walnuts / pine nuts and pepitas in the pesto and used a combo of spinach and basil in there. I overdid the sweet potato so made the rest into a sweet potato gratan kind of thing (I used coconut cream / nooch / smoked paprika / lemon juice / garlic / onion powder in the “cream”). Smelled so good I wanted to just eat that too.

Hi..Im keen to make this recipe thank you so much for sharing* one question… what do you suggest I could use instead of Nutritional yeast..I want to make this for my house mate, who is convelescing from surgery, to cheer her up and know she wont have a bar of it due to being a yeast and her recent health concerns. Thank you* in advance :)

I can’t wait to try this. It looks amazing. It is hard to find basil this time of the year in NH. Any ideas? I was thinking maybe spinach would work but i will look hard to find basil. Thanks for coming up with such awesome vegan food choices for us :)

I always knew I liked sweet potatoes, but recently, I can’t get enough of them! It was then that I realized I have an addiction. ? I am a total white-creamy-sauce-girl, so I know this would slay me! I would love to make this together with my cousin (who is vegan) and share the sweet potato love.

Thank you, Dana! This looks delicious! I’m going to take it to an Xmas party where my husband and I are the only vegans and will need something to eat and to share with the other non-vegan quests. This looks gorgeous and sounds really yummy! I’m sure everyone will love it! You are my favorite food blogger!

I’m with you 1) love lasagna 2) love sweet potatoes. We love pasta here, but wife and I have discussed our slowing metabolisms and eating healthier = exercising less. Deal! I know that sounds terrible. But when you have 2 kids up all night with the stomach flu, who wants to exercise? Not it!!! I appreciate how this will satisfy my lasagna cravings with the unnecessary carbs + fat. When you look what’s in Ricotta cheese? I mean, not a good idea.